Case Type

Holdover-Licensee

Housing Type

Project Based Section 8

Court

Civil Court of the City of New York

County

Bronx County (Bronx)

L&T / Index / Case / Docket / Clerk's Number

LT 339575-23/BX

Petitioner

1712-1715 HDFC, INC.

Respondent

OLGA LAMBERT, JOHN DOE, JANE DOE

Judge

Donoghue, Elizabeth

Decision/Order Date

2025-10-29

Posture

Other

Disposition

Case Dismissed/discontinued

Winner

Tenant Substantially Won

Synopsis

Landlord commenced a licensee/squatter holdover proceeding against the tenant, the daughter of the deceased prior tenant, seeking possession of a Project Based Section 8 apartment. The tenant asserted succession rights. The primary legal issue was whether the tenant's omission from the prior tenant's annual HUD recertification forms precluded her succession claim, given the building's Project Based Section 8 status. The court found that such an omission created a rebuttable presumption, not an absolute bar. After a trial where the tenant presented substantial documentary and testimonial evidence of co-occupancy that was largely unrefuted, the court ruled in favor of the tenant, dismissing the landlord's petition with prejudice on the grounds that the tenant had established her succession defense.

Keywords

HUD Project Based Rental Assistance; Absence from Household Comp not Fatal to Succession Claim

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